Saturday, August 16, 2008

Sarah's Hospital Stay

Maybe Sarah takes after Grandpa... His appendix ruptured too. It wasn't a fun week, but we are thankful for antibiotics and medical care that we have today. Had Sarah been alive 100 years ago, she wouldn't have been as fortunate. Sarah didn't have much for symptoms. She is the type of kid who doesn't complain much. She had been sick in the end of June, and again for a brief time in July, but nothing that made the doctor strongly consider an appendicitis. She had a viral cough/cold type bug at the time we brought her to see the doctor in June, so that confused the picture as well. A week ago Thursday we were exploring Fort Snelling for the day when she said she wasn't feeling very well. By the time we got home, she threw up. Friday morning, she was complaining again of her waist hurting. I got her in to see the same doc she saw in June (our pediatrician was out of town both times...). He did some further exploring and decided we better do a CT scan of her belly. They wanted both IV and oral contrast which meant she had to drink bitter tasting dye in a glass of juice. Miserable! We realized later that it was no wonder she didn't want to eat/drink anything. Infection from the rupture had already caused her intestines to shut down. The dye sat in her stomach rather than moving through. They couldn't be sure it was her appendix, as they couldn't get a good enough picture of it, but she was headed to surgery. It was a good thing! They were able to separate her gummed up intestines and rinse her belly out well. The next several days were spend on IV antibiotics and letting her intestines rest and start working. It wasn't the easiest several days. She had no appetite and became very miserable when encouraged to try some clear liquids. She also had difficult time peeing as there was an infected area attached to the wall of her bladder. Using a catheter brought her great relief. In the end, the doc decided we couldn't let her go any longer without nutrition and set a deadline of Thursday morning for her intestines to be working or we would move to Children's hospital and "settle in for the long haul." We were thrilled when late Wednesday evening she started asking for a "bun from home." She started with nibbles, but they didn't make her sick. A bit of juice, a popsicle slushy, and we were on our way. She is doing well at home; still a bit weak and very thin, but smiling, comfortable, and wanting to play. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers on her behalf!

Thanks to all for your thoughts and encouragement for Sarah. While in the hospital she had IV fluids running right up until discharge. When she got home, she lost that "water" and we saw how much weight she had really lost. Her eyes were sunken in and there wasn't much left to her tiny body. A couple of the older kids had a hard time looking at her. Thankfully kids rebound quickly. She looks and acts pretty normal now. Still tires a little easily, but her energy will normalize too. -b

About Me

We hail from a home on the range/
Where our kids and their parents still play/
where seldom is heard a bigger scrabble score/
than the numbers mother and isä get each day./
Oh give us a website to share our daily goings-on/
from AZ & MN to wherever alphabet soup’ers go/
there’s never a dull post with kids all around/
and grandparents can get updates without all the sound.